Points of View

Summer for the Gods is written in a third person point of view. Larson, as the author, presents an omnipotent voice, which analyzes the events surrounding the trial and gives it context. Through this voice, Larson is able to guide the reader through the trial, pointing out the important events, and provide a degree of analysis for the trial and events.

The book contains a mixture of dialog, taken from memoirs and other historical accounts, and description. Larson uses a great deal of archival material in telling the story of the Scopes trial, including contemporary newspaper accounts of the trial, the writings and memoirs of those involved in the trial, and other publications.

Larson spends the first part of the book putting the trial into a wider context and the last part of the book on the legacies of the trial. In the middle section, Larson...